Columbus Day 2012 marks the 520 year anniversary of the genocidal and ecocidal project of Empire building and colonial expansion that began with the conquistador invasion of this continent and continues to this day through the daily violence and exploitation of global capitalism.

It also marks the 20 year anniversary of the first American Black Bloc which disrupted the 1992 Columbus Day Parade in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.

This year during Columbus Day weekend, a West Coast Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist convergence is being organized in San Francisco. As a contribution to this effort, we are calling for friends and comrades to gather at 2pm on Saturday, October 6 for a rowdy march through the heart of the city’s financial district.

We will honor the memories of all those who fought back and resisted the onslaught of empire over the past five centuries by unleashing the power of our own resistance in the very heart of capitalism on the West Coast. We are proud to stand in solidarity with others whose fierce struggles continue to hold off the machinery of domination and exploitation.

We draw inspiration from the countless struggles of indigenous resistance to capitalist projects of development and expansion: from the mountains of Black Mesa, where elders fiercely protect their way of life in the shadow of a coal mine, to the rebel autonomous municipality of Chéran in Michoacán, México where both the repressive forces of the state and the drug cartels have been expelled while loggers infringing upon indigenous territory have been chased off communal lands, to the far north of Canada where indigenous peoples block roads and disrupt plans for expanding resource extraction while students and radicals in Montreal riot outside the gates of the Plan du Nord summit. These brave fighters motivate us to spread the fires of resistance in the ongoing struggles against colonialism and capitalism.

It is also fitting that October 7 marks the 11 year anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan, another brutal example of colonial domination’s recent manifestations. We invite all those who stand in opposition to Empire and in solidarity with the struggles of the Afghan people to join us on this march.

The Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist March will gather at Justin Herman Plaza for a rally at 2pm and the march will begin at 3pm sharp. Stay tuned for additional details and ways to get involved.

This action is part of the Decolonize the New World 2012: West Coast Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist Convergence in San Francisco during Columbus Day weekend. The convergence is being called for by Decolonize and Anti-Capitalist comrades in the Pacific Northwest and Bay Area.

On October 6, 2012 at approximately 2:50pm, a group of protesters gathered at Justin Herman Plaza. The group began a unpermitted march west bound on Market Street. The group, a number of them wearing black clothing, masks covering their faces, took to the streets disrupting the normal flow of traffic. Officers arrived in the area and were struck by projectiles thrown at them by members of this group. One officer was struck in the head and sustained non-life threatening injuries. The protesters were admonished multiple times that the march was unpermitted and there were causing a public safety hazard.

When the group failed to leave the roadway, Officers encircled them at California and Battery and the protesters threw flares and bags of paint at the officers. Some of the bags of paint contained rocks. A portion of this group ran to the area of Pine and Sansome where they were detained. A number of police officers and their uniforms were covered in paint.

Police made approximately 22 arrests from both locations. The suspects were arrested on one or more of the following charges: conspiracy, riot, refusing to obey a lawful order from a peace officer and resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer, and assault and battery on a peace officer. A lawful search of the arrested suspects’ backpacks revealed that many were armed with hammers, an ice pick, flares and other weapons and more bags of paint containing rocks. The suspects vandalized vehicles and businesses as the walked. Any witnesses to these acts of vandalism are encouraged to notify the SFPD. Attached are photos of some of the weapons the protesters had in their possession.”

Letter to U.S. Attorney, State A.G. and San Francisco D.A. says only investigators with authority to subpoena records, question witnesses under oath can resolve questions

SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 7, 2011) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera today called for a formal criminal investigation into allegations first reported late yesterday afternoon that donors to interim Mayor Ed Lee’s campaign conspired to exceed contribution limits by laundering money through business associates. Herrera’s three-page letter to U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón noted that the published admissions by employees of Go Lorries Airport Shuttle may indicate felony and misdemeanor violations of state and local laws. The California Fair Political Practices Commission has already announced a civil investigation into allegations that donors were reimbursed cash to make campaign contributions to Lee.

Further heightening concerns about the apparently illegal contributions, Herrera wrote, is that the donations closely followed official actions by mayoral appointees that significantly benefited the purported donors’ employer. Those actions include altering shared-ride the loading zone configurations at San Francisco International Airport to favor Go Lorries Airport Shuttles “due to feedback” from unspecified parties. Lee’s campaign has reportedly returned some $8,500 in donations that were questioned yesterday.

“Investigations are warranted when credible allegations risk undermining public trust in our local government — and we’ve certainly reached that point here,” Herrera said. “Only independent investigators with authority to subpoena records and question witnesses under oath can adequately resolve questions to which San Franciscans deserve answers. A formal investigation will best assure justice while protecting innocent parties. I hope interim Mayor Lee’s campaign joins in calling for such an inquiry, and cooperates with it fully.”

Herrera’s letter noted that multiple political endeavors on interim Mayor Lee’s behalf for much of the year have been plagued by ethical and legal questions, including political activities by city contractors, and the advent of a controversial “general purpose committee” that advanced Lee’s candidacy throughout the summer while sidestepping legal restraints that normally apply to candidate committees.

Urging “a full, fair and speedy investigation,” Herrera’s letter to federal and state criminal prosecutors concluded: “Allowing these questions to remain wholly unanswered can only serve to betray San Franciscans’ confidence in the integrity of their public institutions, and potentially diminish the legitimacy of their elected leadership.”

“The west coast tribunal will take place over the weekend of August 7 & 8, 2010 at 150 Green Street, San Francisco, California. Organizers are asking for all original participants and witnesses of the event surrounding the 1970 Kent State shootings to pre-register at www.TruthTribunal.org/preregister.”

“San Francisco was* a cultural and political hub in the sixties and seventies and it is no accident that so many young people scarred by the events of Kent State headed west after the tragic events of May 1970.”

Michael Moore To Broadcast San Francisco Kent State Truth Tribunal. West Coast witnesses and participants are invited to record their stories. First New Media Truth-seeking Initiative Documents 1970 Campus Shooting of Kent State University Students

SAN FRANCISCO, July 27 — On Aug 7-8, 2010 filmmaker Michael Moore will livecast the hearings of the Kent State Truth Tribunal, streaming in real-time the accounts of participants and witnesses to the events surrounding the 1970 Kent State shootings, that left four students dead and nine injured. This livecast is a continuation of the first real-time broadcast of a truth-seeking initiative on Kent State and will be broadcast on www.MichaelMoore.com from 9am-5pm PT. The Tribunal in San Francisco follows a four-day tribunal in Kent, Ohio in early May which marked the 40th anniversary of the campus shootings and assembled over 70 testimonies.

The Kent State Truth Tribunal in May resulted in an outpouring of original participant testimonies, some who shared their stories for the first time since the shootings, forty years ago. Demand for participation was immense at the 40th anniversary yet many witnesses and participants in the events surrounding the shootings were not able to travel to Ohio.